Billy Dodds has hit out at the SFA’s decision to switch the kick-off time of the Scottish Cup Final to fit in with television demands to slot the Hampden match in after the FA Cup at Wembley.
A 3pm Saturday kick-off for the Scottish Cup Final has provided a fitting stage to bring the curtain down on the Scottish season as the final trophy is decided.
SFA chief Ian Maxwell has been fairly evasive over the precise reasons for putting the kick off back two and a half hours- a move that has been criticised by both clubs with little positive reaction from supporters.
Whether the game kicks off at 12 noon or 8pm Celtic fans will snap up every available ticket but after being given an allocation of 8,000 tickets for Hampden with scope for more to match demand Inverness Caley Thistle have been forced to hand back some of their original ticket allocation.
Dodds told the Daily Record:
I don’t think we’d have been handing as many tickets back with a 3pm kick-off. We’d have probably sold another couple of thousand tickets. Whether it was the kick-off time, whether it was the travel, or whether it was ticket prices, it has certainly affected our fans. I’m not saying we’d have sold 20,000, but we’d have definitely sold our allocation. The kick-off time is disappointing. I’m not going to shrink and hide from it.
He added:
As a player, with what this competition means, I’ve always been brought up that the Scottish Cup is your showpiece – as a young boy and then whether I was playing or coaching.
I’ve been involved with Dundee United and Queen of the South in a Scottish Cup final while coaching and I’ve won the cup with Rangers. I’d have been disappointed on any of those dates – player, coach, manager – if it wasn’t three o’clock.
It is our country’s showpiece. Should we just hide behind the fact English football has a bigger profile? Just accept that?
Not for me. Get it out there. There is one half of the Old Firm and ourselves. People want to watch the game. It is our showpiece so to move it? Pretty poor, I’d say
If the FA Cup Final goes into extra-time the BBC will switch the Hampden match from BBC One Scotland to the less popular BBC One Scotland.
Sfa are the same as snp think only of them selfs one is ruining our football and the other our country criminial
Another SNP hater.
Just think on what a Tory or Labour Government ( controlled by Rishi & Sir Keir from Westminster)
would have meant for Scotland.
The SNP Government, warts and all, have been elected and re-elected by the people of Scotland for
the last 10 or 12 years and will most likely be voted in again at the next election.
Deal with it.
I agree with him on the timing of the kick off.
We have diminished our own product ourselves for years by undermining what we sell our rights for.
Our sports leadership have bought whole heartedly into the hype of the EPL.
Historically both cup finals kicked off at 3pm.
It was interesting that the timing of the cup final only became an issue after the semi finals were played.
We’re they waiting to see who got to the final ?
Another SNP hater.
Just think on what a Tory or Labour Government ( controlled by Rishi & Sir Keir from Westminster)
would have meant for Scotland.
The SNP Government, warts and all, have been elected and re-elected by the people of Scotland for
the last 10 or 12 years and will most likely be voted in again at the next election.
Deal with it.
Head. The. Hit. Nail. The. On.